Wednesday, 16 November 2011

Castell Dinas Bran - Gwyn ap Nudd

Castell Dinas Bran near Llangollen in Wales is where St. Collen was invited to the court of the fairy king Gwyn ap Nudd. Legend says that he climbed the hill and entered a magnificent kingdom of richly attired courtiers where he was offered all the food, drink and entertainment his heart could desire by the fairy king who was seated upon a golden throne; but St. Collen refused to believe the illusion and threw holy water over them all to make them disappear.

I arrived in Llangollen on a dank, cold, misty afternoon in November. It was already getting late so it didn't seem like the right time to head up to the summit. I contented myself instead with wandering around the fairy-haunted woods below. Local folklore tells of an ancient walnut tree near Llandyn hall where the fairies used to hold their weddings at night.

I found a likely looking spot that fit the description, but the tree was no longer there. It was chopped down in the 19th century, but not before the fairies had their revenge, as a man was killed by a falling branch during the process!

I reached the base of Dinas Bran but the summit was barely visible through the mist, just a hint of ruined walls visible now and then. A sheep coughing sounded eerily human, the atmosphere was sombre. I could sense the presence of the fairy king up there but now was not the time to pay him a visit, I would return the next day.

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I was greeted in the morning by bright sunshine, what a relief! I set off early to Dinas Bran and parked in a lane behind the hill to save on climbing time. The valley below me was still filled with the early morning mist, so I wandered down through the fairy woods to soak up the atmosphere.

I recalled another tale told of Dinas Bran where a shepherd had an encounter with the fairy folk in a wooded glade called Nant Yr Ellyllon. He met a small man playing the most magical music on a fiddle while the fairies danced all around. Unable to resist he joined in the dance and was unable to stop until his master arrived in the morning and broke the spell.

I sat in the woods above Llandyn Hall and meditated, hoping to make some connection with the Fae there, but all I could sense was Gwyn ap Nudd up on the hilltop, waiting for me! Clearly that was where I was meant to be!

I couldn't put it off any longer so up I climbed. The walk was a lot less difficult than I thought it was going to be, so I soon found myself near the top. I came first to the shallow remains of a ditch, that probably once surrounded the ancient hillfort that crowned this hill. I felt like I should say some words before I stepped inside, so I circled the ditch chanting:

"Gwyn ap Nudd,Lord of Annwn,I ask your permission to enter!"

I could feel the energy building, something big is about to happen! I stepped forward: "I am Aurvandil, the luminous wanderer. I come here bringing the light. The light of the evening star. The light from above."

I approached an archway in the ruined walls of the ancient castle.

Gwyn ap Nudd is standing there in his shining black armour and greets me: "You are most welcome here Aurvandil!"

I walk through the archway and feel myself stepping into another world.

A large banquet hall is filled with much revelry and music. I sit at the high table besides Gwyn ap Nudd and he offers me food and wine. I feel like I am a powerful and respected lord like him, my white silks contrasting with his magnificent black armour.

I stand up and my crystal-tipped wand glows brilliantly in my hand as I hold it aloft.

"I come here to bring the light and the energy you need!"

"No longer must you live underground. It is time to return to the world above!"

The hall erupts into a loud cheer as they hold their drinks aloft and celebrate.

I open my eyes and find that I am not alone in Castell Dinas Bran. A German photographer is there, taking photos for an article about Arthurian sites in Wales. The castle is linked to the grail legends through its association with King Bran. I'm hoping that he's going to leave soon so that I can perform my ritual in peace, but he lingers, taking photos of the fort from every possible angle.

I can feel the Fae growing restless: "What is he waiting for?" they say.

Eventually I can wait no longer and with the photographer still hanging around the periphery I step into the centre of the fort and start to tune in to the energies. I can feel the energy building like a lightning storm about to explode. I start to feel light-headed and cast a circle around me. I raise my wand above my head and as I do so the lightning strikes! The energy courses through me directly into the hill, a massive amount of energy!

I plant my wand into the ground to anchor the energies there. All the while the energy is still flowing down from the sky into the ground, filling the whole hill with a matrix of white light. I can feel the Fae being transformed into beings of light, and see them flowing out of the hillside in great streaming, serpentlike torrents, up into the sky.

Gwyn ap Nudd stood before me, no longer dark he was now composed entirely of white light covered in streams of iridescent colours like some being from another dimension. He thanked me for what I had done. I could now see the web of light connecting this hilltop with countless similar places of power all over the world. The Unity Consciousness Grid! Was this it? I had just been reading about it, and how it was preparing the world for the shift in consciousness and the ascension the next level of being. Was I here in Britain doing my own small bit to contribute, like so many other lightworkers all over the world? I had just been reading about how the ancient Maya had been exiled underground, awaiting the fifth world when they could return to earth as beings of light. Were the Fae our version of the ancient Maya? Weren't they also forced underground long ago, and were they not now returning?

Suddenly everything that I had been doing was starting to make sense. Anchoring energies. The grid. The return of the Fae. Raising the consciousness of the people by energising the water. The ascension. Those that will rise to the next level and those who will be left behind. A new world created. Nature in harmony, vibrant and alive. The Lord of the Wild claiming back is domain. The Fae who will once more walk over the face of the earth, and the enlightened ones who will create a new world!

Looking around the castle I notice a little enclosure that looks like a shrine, it is facing due west. I leave an offering there and give thanks.

I walk down the hillside and watch two jays chasing each other through the trees. The magical wooded glade ahead is surely Nant yr Ellyllon as mentioned in the folk tales. The glade of the shining ones, where if you're not carefull you'll spend all night dancing with the fairies!

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Rob Wildwood (Aurvandil) has now released a book containing hundreds of his own stunning full colour photos of many of the magical places he has visited in his travels. The images capture the magic and mystery of each place and are enhanced by extracts of local folklore that reveal the magical lore of each place and tempt deeper investigation. Every site listed has full directions and map grid references that can be checked online, so join Rob Wildwood as you discover Britain's magical places at www.themagicalplaces.com